Did bicycling screw up Brandon Roy's knee? (Jack Bog's Blog)

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on August 14, 2008 9:57 PM. The previous post in this blog was New Oregon biathlon. The next post in this blog is Old media becomes new. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Did bicycling screw up Brandon Roy's knee?

A reader raises an interesting question.

Posted at 9:57 PM | Permalink

Comments (7)

As a former competitive distance runner I've found that cycling is one of the best things I can do to strengthen the muscles surrounding my knees without damaging the knee joint itself. It's hard to imagine how he could have torn cartilage on his bike unless he crashed into a tree or whatever and twisted his leg in the process. From what I understand there was a small amount of loose cartilage that came from general wear and tear from all the hours spent making cuts on the hardwood. Maybe the cycling strengthened his knee muscles, which then altered mechanics of how the knee tracked such that the loose cartilage caused irritation that he didn't have before. I'm not a doctor or physical therapist so...who knows.

Posted by Usual Kevin | August 15, 2008 4:41 AM

You are all discounting the overwhelming likelihood he wrenched the knee kicking a car as it rolled through a stop sign making a right turn in front of him.

Posted by Pete | August 15, 2008 4:45 PM

If he is riding a 29in. bike frame that is too big for him, even with the seat all the way down, couldn't that create a potential problem with hyperextension of the knee?

Posted by James J | August 15, 2008 6:25 PM

No kidding. Improper seat height can really screw up a knee. And there is some concern about seat height expressed in the news story on Roy's newfound bike hobby.

I like bicycles. Ride one myself around the neighborhood running errands. The whole Portland bike religion, though, is a bit much for most of the population.

Posted by Jack Bog | August 15, 2008 9:26 PM

I ride a bike all the time and also have had surgery to remove some ripped up meniscus. The worst thing is when the seat is set too low, as it prevents fluids in the knee area to cycle. I had a bike once with a quick release bike seat and under my 200+ pounds, the seat gradually got lower and lower. Suddenly I had a lot of knee pain. A guy at a bike shop told me the cause. Since then, I've never had a quick release seat and had no problems.

A bike seat that's too high could affect cartilage in the knee, because as the knee locks out in when the leg is hyper-extended, it comes in contact with the cartilage in the femur and the friction starts eroding both.

My concern with Roy is that if they keep taking out pieces of meniscus, his knee is going to start clanging on the femur--bone on bone--which will lead to greater inflammation and pain. I don't think there is any kind of physical therapy that will really fix that, though there is a fairly expense brace that does.

Posted by Gil Johnson | August 15, 2008 10:35 PM

Had an "ohnosecond" experience when I hit the submit key and saw a typo in the last line, which should have read: "...a fairly expensive brace..."

Posted by Gil Johnson | August 15, 2008 10:37 PM

I think Brandon, or any rider, would be more prone to tendonitis in the knee than a meniscus tear. And I would bet my seat at games that Jay Jensen monitors that closely. What I am not sure about: do they monitor WHERE he rides. I saw Zach Randolph bike through my neighborhood more than once during his rehab. While Tigard/Tualatin is a pretty quiet place compared to other parts of the metro, it didn’t stop some person in their car from running me over a few weeks ago. I’d tell Brandon, “even bike lanes are unsafe these days.”

Posted by Mark Mason | August 16, 2008 6:40 PM

In Vino Veritas

Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007

The Occasional Book

Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269